1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a putting training device and method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Golf, a game played for centuries, has achieved worldwide popularity. It is thought that as many as 60 million people play golf across the globe on a total of 32,000 golf courses. The United States alone accounts for over half these numbers. With all of golf's popularity, it is the rare person indeed who does not encounter frustration while playing the game. While delight and indescribable contentment may result from seeing the ball hone in on the flagstick after a perfectly executed stroke, frustration surely results from the cold vibration and wayward path of the golf ball poorly struck. In an effort to eliminate, or at least minimize, frustration, the golfer seeks refuge in golf books, magazines, videos, private instruction, and hours of practice. But each aspect of the game presents its own challenges. For example, in driving the ball from a tee, the club head may reach a speed in excess of 100 miles per hour. Coordinating this explosion of energy with sufficient accuracy is exceedingly difficult for even the professional golfer. In most cases, the weekend golfer lacks the physical ability to match the distance and accuracy of the professional.
Similarly, approach shots to the green often require a great deal of arc and backspin in order for the ball to land close to the hole or even remain on the green. Because weekend golfers often drive the ball a shorter distance, they must use a less lofted club on approach shots in order to reach the green, resulting in less accuracy and more frustration. Thus, the gap widens between the weekend golfers' golf games and that of their professional counterparts.
Putting, on the other hand, does not demand explosive energy, high club head speed, or a great deal of manual dexterity. Rather, putting requires proper technique, alignment, and concentration. Accurate putting, more than any other shot in golf, may be mastered by almost all that play the game. And because putting may account for almost half the number of total strokes in a round of golf, it is this area of golf in which high handicap golfers may narrow the gap between themselves and professionals.
Just as in other golf strokes, the putting stroke involves a take-away, a forward stroke, and a follow-through. The distance the putter head travels between the forward stroke and follow-through, the stroke length, is important for determining the distance the putt travels. The distance the putter head travels along the target line between the forward stroke and follow-through determines putting consistency. This distance is determined by a number of factors, including the golfer's size, flexibility, and training. Generally, a longer putting arc distance correlates positively with greater accuracy and consistency. While a number of putting training aids and methods are known in the art, none provide the necessary training or assistance for a golfer to attain the optimum putting arc distance. Some devices known in the art are mats that must be placed on a surface. Such mats, however, are necessarily unnatural and artificial. Putting on a mat alters the spatial relationship between the golfer and the putting surface as well as interferes with the golfer's “feel” that may only be attained from putting on a natural surface. Other devices known in the art must remain on the putting surface during practice which, again, interferes with the golfer's ability to practice effectively.
What is needed is a device and method that may be comfortably and effectively used by golfers to develop an optimum putting arc distance and improve putting.